When complete, the facility will be used to offload coal from Botswana into train at Walvis Bay, Namibia.
“As a stop gap measure, my ministry is developing a coal siding facility in Gobabis, Namibia whereby coal from Botswana will be off loaded from trucks into train to Walvis Bay,” the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Eric Molale, said when presenting his budget requests for the 2023-2024 in Parliament last week.
Government had earlier announced its plans to construct another dry port in Gobabis, 600 kilometers from Walvis Bay. The Gobabis Port will be 120 km from the Charles Hill border closer than the plus 1,000km to Walvis Bay a difference that is expected to improve traffic volumes and make the project viable. Botswana Railways (BR)) decided to build the additional port after establishing from customers that Botswana’s Walvis Bay dry port is far and not easy to re-direct traffic there.
On the other hand, Molale said they are working with the Namibian government towards a feasibility study to ultimately construct the Trans Kalahari railway line, as a way of providing an alternative access to international markets for Botswana products through the Walvis Bay Port. “The rail link will provide an alternative access to the international markets for our products through the Walvis Bay Port,” he added.
In addition, government is also undertaking a bankable feasibility study for the Mosetse-Kazungula and the Mmamabula-Lephalale rail lines in a move aimed at providing alternative routes for export and import commodities. Molale said the development of these rail lines is expected to place Botswana as a logistics hub taking into consideration the geographical position. He further said they are also in the process of finalising another agreement with South Africa, which will allow local trains to proceed to their destination as opposed to terminating at Mafikeng.
“In both instances, it will improve our turnaround times with the concomitant envisaged increases in revenue,” he said. In April 2020, BR launched the first train to Maputo from Morupule Coal Mine, hauling 2,000 tons of coal on 40 wagons through Zimbabwe. The train marked a major milestone to the railways parastatal and the mining industries as it demonstrated a much needed rail solution to export coal from Botswana to overseas markets. As at December 2022, a total of 67,715 tons of coal had moved through the Limpopo route to the port of Maputo for export overseas.
The government is also considering constructing a maintenance facility, which will address backlog, reduce cost of outsourcing of rolling stock and increase capacity of their BR’s maintenance facilities. “Aging rolling stock and limited maintenance has severely affected Botswana Railways operations. This initiative will go a long way in meeting local industrialisation objectives including skills development and job creation once completed in 2024,” Molale said.
